Chinese navy fleet returns from escort missions

Soldiers line up on the deck in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Fang Sihang/Xinhua)

HANGZHOU, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese navy fleet returned to the port city of Zhoushan in Zhejiang Province, east China, on Monday after completing escort missions.

The 44th fleet of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, comprising the guided-missile destroyer Zibo, the guided-missile frigate Jingzhou, and the comprehensive supply ship Qiandaohu, escorted 33 Chinese and foreign ships during the missions in areas including the Gulf of Aden, the waters off Somalia and the Arabian Sea.

The escort squad traveled over 100,000 nautical miles during its 235-day voyage since setting off on April 28, visiting Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Myanmar and Pakistan, with a technical stop in Singapore.

China began dispatching naval ships to carry out vessel protection operations in December 2008 in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off Somalia.

Soldiers line up on the deck in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 18, 2023. (Xinhua)

The guided-missile destroyer Zibo arrives at a port in Zhoushan, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 18, 2023. (Xinhua)